Yo, Im ordering alot of stuff tonight for the beast, im down two head to block dowels, do you absolutely have to have em? I know they help keep the hg in place but im gluing the thing in place for when I put the heads on, so they wont slide off.
Gluing the headgaskets in place? What do you plan on using to "glue" them onto the block and what kind of headgaskets are you using?
Why not just do it the right way and get some $2 block dowels to locate the head and the gasket upon installation.
There is a good change your "gluing" technique will cause a blown headgasket after 1 min of runtime. For the head gaskets to seal, the surface mating areas need to be FREE of ALL DEBRIS, including glue!!
The quick subsittute for the dowels is some 1/2" diameter hard copper pipe about 1/2" long. You cut a slit in the pipe from one end to the other. The width of the slit enables you to trim the pipe to exactly the right diameter to fit in the holes in the engine block. Any home store or hardware store will have the 1/2" copper pipe, and you need about 6". That gives you some leftover pipe to play with if you don't get it right the first time.
Im not going to actually glue the whole things on there, just put a spot or two in the corners, Ive done it before, but I had the dowels, oh well I guess i bought some dowels!!1
Yes, you absolutely need the dowels. In a pinch, try a machine shop to see if they have some leftovers. Several places sell them, including Ford, alone, or as part of kits. They locate the heads to the block properly.